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Join us in the square! 4 PM, Mkt Square!A COUNTRY AT A CROSSROADS: AMERICA IS BEING RUN LIKE A BUSINESS — AND WORKING PEOPLE ARE PAYING THE BILL
There is a lot happening in America right now.
Immigration enforcement is expanding. The war with Iran continues to affect American families through energy prices, federal spending and the risk of a wider conflict. Federal agencies are being cut or reshaped. Public-health programs are being weakened. Elections and voting rights are being challenged. Farmers and consumers are dealing with tariffs and an increasingly unpredictable trade policy. Communities are fighting over data centers, environmental protections and who should pay for the infrastructure they require.
And underneath all of it is a larger question:
What happens when a president treats the government of the United States like a business?
This presidency has increasingly looked less like an effort to manage a public institution and more like a vulture-capitalist business strategy: take control, strip away what can be sold or eliminated, extract value wherever possible, weaken the institutions that stand in the way — and leave someone else to deal with the wreckage.
That is not simply a political argument.
There are measurable consequences.
Federal workers have lost jobs. Programs that protected public health and American agriculture have been cut. Foreign-aid programs that supported American contractors, universities and farmers have disappeared. Tariffs have been used as an economic weapon, creating uncertainty for businesses and consumers. Federal funding has been conditioned on political demands that courts have repeatedly questioned.
And while government programs are being dismantled or redirected, Donald Trump and his family have used the presidency to generate extraordinary new business opportunities and wealth. Investigations by the Associated Press have documented hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into Trump family businesses from cryptocurrency ventures, foreign interests and people with business before the federal government. Forbes has estimated that Trump's net worth has risen dramatically since he returned to office.
The contrast is difficult to ignore:
Public institutions are being stripped down while private wealth connected to the president grows.
That is why the stories in this week's newsletter matter.
They are not isolated controversies.
They are pieces of a larger picture.
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Market Square at
4 PM
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The government is being reshaped — and the courts are increasingly being asked to stop it.
This week, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration cannot attach sweeping ideological conditions to federal transportation and homelessness grants. The conditions had threatened billions of dollars in funding for cities and local governments. The court found that the administration had exceeded its authority.
A federal judge also questioned Trump's newest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, raising serious constitutional concerns even while declining to immediately block the order.
And on Thursday, a federal judge again blocked Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, with another hearing scheduled for September 3.
These cases all raise the same basic question:
Does the president have the power to do something simply because he wants to do it?
The Constitution says no.
But that answer only matters if Congress, the courts, government employees and the public are willing and able to enforce the limits.
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Working people are being asked to absorb the consequences.
The administration's proposed $103,000 fee for H-1B visas is the latest example of how immigration policy can become economic policy. The proposal follows a legal setback for the administration and would dramatically change the cost of employing highly skilled foreign workers.
Tariffs remain another source of uncertainty.
Businesses do not simply absorb tariffs.
Eventually, costs move through supply chains — to manufacturers, retailers, workers and consumers.
And when trade policy changes rapidly, it becomes harder for farmers and businesses to plan.
Working people need an economy they can plan their lives around.
They need to know what their paycheck will buy next month.
They need to know whether their employer will still be operating next year.
They need affordable housing, health care and food.
They need roads, schools, clean water and safe communities.
They need government to work.
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Meanwhile, the administration continues to expand presidential control over institutions that were designed to provide independent checks.
The Justice Department is investigating FBI officials involved in the search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
The FCC is continuing its pressure on ABC and Disney.
The administration is challenging longstanding professional institutions, including the American Bar Association's role in law-school accreditation.
Federal troops remain deployed in Washington, with the administration indicating that the presence could potentially continue for years.
And the administration continues to fight with cities, states, courts, universities, public-health officials and other institutions over who ultimately controls federal policy.
None of these individual actions proves that democracy has ended.
But democracy is not only about elections.
It is also about limits on power.
It is about whether courts can say no.
Whether Congress can control spending.
Whether journalists can criticize the president without government retaliation.
Whether scientists can follow evidence instead of political pressure.
Whether federal employees can do their jobs without becoming political instruments.
Whether citizens can protest without being treated as enemies.
And whether the people running the government are accountable to the people who pay for it.
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THE COST OF STRIPPING THE SYSTEM
The most troubling part may be what happens after the cuts.
When you eliminate a public-health program, you don't eliminate the problem it was designed to prevent.
When you eliminate disease surveillance, the disease does not disappear.
When you eliminate housing assistance, people still need somewhere to live.
When you cut food assistance, people still need to eat.
When you weaken environmental enforcement, pollution does not stop.
When you cut government workers, the work does not necessarily disappear.
Someone else eventually pays.
That is why the foreign-aid story covered elsewhere in this newsletter matters to Americans at home. This week's reporting on animal-disease surveillance shows how programs operating overseas can also protect American farmers from threats before they reach the United States.
The same principle applies to public health, climate monitoring, scientific research and international security.
Prevention is infrastructure.
Destroying the prevention system can make the eventual crisis much more expensive.
AND THEN THERE IS THE MONEY
The Trump presidency has also created a remarkable intersection between public power and private wealth.
Trump entered office as a businessman.
He has continued to operate within a vast family business empire while serving as president, rather than placing his business interests into a traditional blind trust.
The Associated Press has documented hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into Trump family businesses since his election, including money connected to cryptocurrency ventures, foreign interests and individuals with business before the federal government.
That creates a fundamental question for every American taxpayer:
Who is the government working for?
A government should be a public institution.
It should protect the public's money.
It should provide services the public cannot efficiently provide for itself.
It should enforce laws fairly.
It should protect workers, consumers and communities.
It should preserve the institutions that make the country stronger for the next generation.
It should not be treated as an asset to be stripped for short-term gain.
That is why the vulture-capitalist comparison is worth considering.
A vulture capitalist does not necessarily build the company.
The strategy is to acquire something valuable, extract what can be extracted, cut what can be cut, sell what can be sold and leave the remaining costs to someone else.
If government is treated that way, the assets being stripped are ours.
The public lands are ours.
The public records are ours.
The research is ours.
The infrastructure is ours.
The institutions are ours.
The tax dollars are ours.
And ultimately, the wreckage is ours, too.
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THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN
It is easy to become exhausted.
It is easy to see another executive order, another court case, another attack on an institution, another immigration raid, another tariff, another cut to a public program — and simply shut the news off.
That is understandable.
But it is also exactly how people in power become less accountable.
We do not have to agree on everything.
We do not have to belong to the same political party.
We do not have to be experts in constitutional law, economics, immigration or foreign policy.
But we do have to pay attention.
We have to ask questions.
We have to talk to our neighbors.
We have to defend the rights of people whose rights are being threatened today — because rights lost by one group can become rights lost by everyone.
We have to support independent journalism.
We have to attend public meetings.
We have to contact our elected representatives.
We have to vote.
And sometimes, most importantly, we have to show up in person.
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✊ JOIN US THIS SUNDAY
If you are tired of watching from the sidelines, come stand with us.
Civil Rights Sundays
Sunday • 4:00 PM
Market Square • Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Every Sunday, people from across the Seacoast come together in Market Square to stand up for civil rights, democracy, human dignity and the rule of law.
You do not need to give a speech.
You do not need to carry a sign.
You do not need to be an activist.
Just show up.
Bring a friend.
Bring your family.
Bring your neighbors.
Bring a sign if you have one.
Most importantly, bring yourself.
Because democracy is not something that happens in Washington.
Democracy is what ordinary people do when they decide that their country belongs to all of us.
We'll see you Sunday at 4 PM in Market Square.
Don't just read about what is happening. Come stand with us.
We've seen the executions of two more innocents
ICE killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero just a week apart. Over the past year, more than 50 people have died in ICE detention.
It’s clear this lawless agency cannot be reformed. It must be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up with a commitment to the rule of law and due process.
Join us this Sunday to stand up and say no More ICE Executions, no more military in our streets, this is not what America is supposed to be. This goes against our beliefs and our constitution.
In addition we also continue to stand against all the other atrocities going on. No War in Iran, No Genocide in Gaza, dehumanizing immigrants and ignoring their due process rights! Join us!
Take this opportunity to call your legislators to have them stand up against this administration.
Tell them:
Protect our right to vote!
End the War in Iran
End support for Israel and their Genocide
End ICE, and the illegal actions they are taking
Contact info for National Legislators for Maine and NH.
New Hampshire
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Manchester Office: 2 Wall Street, Suite 220, Manchester, NH 03101
Phone: (603) 647-7500
Washington, D.C. Office: 506 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2841
Website: shaheen.senate.gov
Senator Maggie Hassan
Manchester Office: 1589 Elm Street, Suite 3, Manchester, NH 03101
Phone: (603) 622-2204
Washington, D.C. Office: 324 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3324
Website: hassan.senate.gov
Representative Chris Pappas (1st District)
Manchester Office: 889 Elm Street, Manchester, NH 03101
Phone: (603) 935-6710
Washington, D.C. Office: 319 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5456
Website: pappas.house.gov
Representative Maggie Goodlander (2nd District)
Concord Office: 18 North Main Street, Fourth Floor, Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 226-1002
Washington, D.C. Office: 320 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5206
Website: goodlander.house.gov
Maine
Senator Susan Collins
Augusta Office: 68 Sewall Street, Room 507, Augusta, ME 04330
Phone: (207) 622-8414
Bangor Office: 202 Harlow Street, Room 20100, Bangor, ME 04401
Phone: (207) 945-0417
Washington, D.C. Office: 413 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2523
Website: collins.senate.gov
Senator Angus King
Augusta Office: 4 Gabriel Drive, Suite 3, Augusta, ME 04330
Phone: (207) 622-8292
Bangor Office: 202 Harlow Street, Room 20350, Bangor, ME 04401
Phone: (207) 945-8000
Washington, D.C. Office: 133 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5344
Website: king.senate.gov
Representative Chellie Pingree (1st District)
Portland Office: 2 Portland Fish Pier, Suite 304, Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207) 774-5019
Washington, D.C. Office: 2162 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6116
Website: pingree.house.gov
Representative Jared Golden (2nd District)
Lewiston Office: 179 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ME 04240
Phone: (207) 241-6767
Washington, D.C. Office: 1223 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6306
Website: golden.house.gov
For the most accurate and up-to-date contact information, it's recommended to visit the official websites of each legislator.
join us to say NO!
NO Wars period! No War with IRAN, CUBA, Venezuela etc.
NO WAR for Israel's colonialism and desire for expansion!
Iran poses no threat to the US!
Now is the time to act! Join us this Sunday at 4!Join us in the streets, join us online, join us in saying no to this Fascist regime!
This is not a legitimate President, we have a Felon in that position, and a comedy of errors making up the administration.
Join us to say this is not my President and we will not let him destroy this country.
Please invite others, FB friends, friends, family everyone you can! Like Occupies Posts! Comment, Share! We need to get the word out there that what is going on is unacceptable!
More Murders or executions of citizens! This can not stand! This administration is using the Nazi handbook!
Silence is Complicity
Join us!
Over 1,200 people came out to protest the Murder of Renee Good, with ICE out for Good!
Stand against the fascist takeover of our country. The disregard for our constitution and our laws.
The Murder of Renee Good, despite the attempts to obfuscate, boils down to the fact that nothing she did deserved a death sentence, and ICE was acting as Judge, Jury and Executioner. Not just Jonathan Ross, but we have seen similar disregard for the law across the country.
✔ Oppose U.S. war/militarism
✔ Reject regime change and sovereignty violations
✔ Call for peace and respect for international law
Say No to Military being used against Citizens!
Due Process is being denied immigrants, it is only time before it is taken from citizens!
Join us today to save our Democracy!
Build a Democracy that Money Can't Buy!
Stand up for Democracy!
Stand up for Our Country!
Stand up for Immigrants!
Stand up for History!
Stand up for Equity!
Stand up for Working People!
and on and on and on....
The Hand's Off and NO KINGS Rallies were awesome but we need to continue!
We stand along the street in front of the North Church, On Congress Street! the Brick Church off of Market Square in Portsmouth!
Everyone is welcome to bring their own signs, We also have signs Banners and flags to share.
We call the event Civil Rights Sundays, we started in November of 2016 after Trump won the first time, and we were in the square every Sunday until Covid shut us down, then we went back out when Ukraine was invaded and brought back the name Civil Rights Sundays when Roe Vs Wade was overturned.
Please join us at 3 PM!
Call for a continued ceasefire in Gaza and for an end to our administration using our tax dollars to support a holocaust!
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